Saturn Outlook Transmission Problems

Comments

Thank you for getting in touch, Joey. We'd be happy to work with you on this. I see you're going in tomorrow to see a mechanic. Just to clarify, is this with one of our service departments?

To assist further (including calling your dealership), we would like to get a Service Request set up for you in our database. Please email us with more information, including your name and Edmunds username, phone and address, the last 8 digits of your vehicle's VIN and current mileage, and the name of your involved dealership. My coworker Christina, who answers inbound email from the forum will advise you further.

I have a 2007 outlook with 74,000 miles. Just had it in the shop last week 2 times and ended up with a rebuilt tranny and new timing chain. Was running fine until sunday, (i just got it back on friday) the check engine light appeared again and again I had trouble speeding up while driving. What is going on with this vehicle? I dropped it off again at the shop this evening and they said they will keep it longer to figure this out. luckily they were able to give me a loner car to drive. How long does a rebuilt tranny last?? this seems to be a recurring problem, saturn needs recalls and I think new tranny, not rebuilt!! If this isnt easily resolved I will never again buy another GM product. I have always had them, this will be a hard thing to do.

I'm so sorry to read that you've had to go back to the shop so soon after having your transmission rebuilt (just making sure - your Saturn's being serviced at one of our dealerships, right?). If you would like to have a Service Request set up so that we can follow up with your dealership on this, please send us an email to socialmedia@gm.com with more information (include your name/Edmunds username, phone and address, the last 8 digits of your VIN and approximate mileage, and the name of your dealership).

I noticed GM reps reply on here.So i would like to voice my aggrevations with GM!I purchased late 2007 a tahoe in which we kept and drove aprox 65k miles and after some electrical problems and horrible gas mileage and other problems we decided to trade.We found a 2008 saturn outlook wife loved it.The vehicle had aprox 29k on it when we purchased it, i felt this vehicle had been out a couple of years maybe the bugs were worked out seeing there was plenty in the tahoe. WRONG we have 72000 on it and its still under warranty but come on in 40k miles it been to the shop 5 times 2 times for headlights (THE SECOND TIME GM had issued the recall) air bags 2 times and how wonderful my sick wife and 4 year old coming home from doctor last night transmission goes out.She is only an hour and 15 mins away. Thanks to mother in laws toyota she had a ride home and saturn picked the car up and took to dealer which is close to where she was over an hour from where we live!Myself i just had major back surgery and at this point was pretty upset seeing i couldnt do much about the situation and this is our family car!Called the dealer this morning he said my transmission guy isnt here today but we will look at it as soon as possible.Mean while we are lucky enough to have family that loaned us a car so she could come home.The dealer did say he drove the car at the dealership and it seemed ok i bet the wrecker driver wished it would have drove so he didnt have to winch it on the rollback.Long story short one headache to another and hey my GM family wonder why my daily driver is a tacoma 230k no breakdowns just regular maint. I left GM because of dealers and quality the idea that i have to buy GM.Maybe the dealers and bean counters didnt suffer enough thru the bad years or before gov. bailout to put customerservice quality and the people who made them who they WERE first.

After reading your post, I can understand why you are dissatisfied. Not only have you encountered concerns with your Saturn, but they came at a time when there were some medical situations going on (I hope you're recovering well from your recent surgery).

If you would like to open a Service Request with us, which would allow us to interact with your dealership on the progress of the repair, please send us an email at one of the addresses in the bio section of my Edmunds profile (include your name/Edmunds username, phone and address, the last 8 digits of your VIN and approximate mileage, and the name of your dealership).

Sarah thanks for responding it is being handled by cust. service and dealer states we will fix the car this is the issue i spend my hard earned money for my family to have reliable transportation in the amount of more than what alot of people in our area make in a year and we tend to keep our vehicles for many years. Pay them off and enjoy a few years before we are stuck with another rediculous price on another yes this vehicle will be repaired but if i cant trust it to be dependable the first 4 years how can i expect it tobe in tthe next 10 to give to one of my kids to beat around in.My first car was built the year i was born a 74 camaro then when i was old enough to drive it was givin to me and bingo learn to drive and work on and appreciate my car. These cars will never make it that long and as long as the attitude well we will fix it, the goal (IS NOT TO HAVE TO FIX IT),your service bays will stay packed and the customer losses will rise evenmore.It is sad my grandfather who passed away a few years ago was a plant manager for gm thru the late 70s and my father has retired from gm but the ethic of if you are gonna do something do the best you can and your goal shouldnt be comparing yourself to others your goal is to set the bar or maybe to many people that work for GM know dont love the cars they make and strive to be the best its just another job.Real vehicles arent made for profits they are crafted out of love for cars profits just tend to follow!

Hi Busiest Mom! I too am a busy Mom w/ 5 kids. Anyway, we purchased a 2007 Saturn Outlook this past fall. I am having the exact same problem. I had it in the shop two weeks ago to replace the Input Speed Sensor only to have it break down on me once again this week. They are now telling me I will likely have to replace my transmission. During a diagnostic test they found that I need to replace the 3-5 Reverse Clutch Plate. I am not a technician, but what I found alarming is that this is a common problem for several GM Models. (2008-2009 Buick Enclave, 2008-2009 Chevrolet Equinox, Malibu, 2009 Chevrolet traverse, 2007-2009 GMC Acadia, 2007-2009 Pontiac G6, 2008-2009 Pontiac torrent, 2007-2009 Saturn Aura, Outlook, and the 2008-2009 Saturn Vue). Unfortunately for us the 5year 100,000 mi power train warrantee expired LAST month. I am hoping and praying that GM and the dealership I am working with will help us on this because it is very likely that this was already a problem when we purchased the vehicle 6months ago. I had even brought it into them a couple of weeks after we purchased it because we noticed a very strong burning smell. The report I have that is stamped with the GM Authentic Technical Service Information states that "This condition may be caused by a broken 35R clutch wave plate allowing the apply piston to over-stroke, causing the piston to leak and causing loss of apply. This normally will not occur before approximately 20,000mi." This makes me wonder if the burning smell that hasn't gone away is related to the piston leak. We purchased the car through a GM authorized dealer and we had it towed to the same dealership in hopes that they can get this fixed and honor the warrantee. They are telling us that it could cost us close to $5,000 to rebuild or replace the transmission. It is difficult when you put your trust in a brand and have something this major happen. Our repair two weeks ago ran about $600 and now we are facing this. I hope you were able to get your issue resolved!KMP420

kmp420,I apologize for your frustrations and concerns. Have you spoke with GM Customer Assistance? Can you please email me directly with your VIN, current mileage, and involved dealer? I look forward to hearing from you further.ChristinaGM Customer Service

Christina,I found out today that the transmission had a catastrophic failure and that they will need to put in a remanufactured (not rebuilt) transmission. We purchased this vehicle 6months ago from the dealership we are working with. I was hoping to reply to you directly via email, but I am not quite sure how to do this. I have not spoken with GM Customer Assistance.

I have had my saturn outlook into the dealer multiple times for a hesitation that they say they cant find. While leaving chicago airport monday afternoon it skipped and stuttered in heavy traffic twice in a less than safe neighborhood with my wife and 2 kids onboard. i have had it with this thing known by some as an SUV, but known by me as a POS... its been headlights, sunroof leaks, hesitation, strange tire wear... and a dealer service department that needs to be educated. funny how one of the sales people call everytime its in for work and asks "have you ever driven a Armada or a Pathfinder?" Wow how great for the dealer, they peddled dozens of these lemons to customers and now they can try and sell them a Nissan because their Saturns have multiple engineering and design defects... Hmmm my wife doesnt want a car payment so we should keep it, but i dont want a worthless POS that the dealer has me over a barrel on.

Durango? Explorer? what to do? Might be the first time i have driven a non GM since i drove a Jeep in college which coincidently had 213,000 miles got better gas mileage and the soft top didnt leak as bad as the Saturn sunroof.

I was having the same hesitation in my Saturn Outlook. It had a funny shifting feeling when changing speeds. Anyway, the codes for mine that came up that you might want to check into are P0776 and P0842. We drove ours directly to a service station because it wouldn't accelerate. To make this short...we ended up having a catastrophic transmission failure. I hope this isn't what is happening to your Outlook, but I did find out that this isn't uncommon and is caused by a broken 3-5 Reverse Clutch Plate. If it is an internal transmission problem it would be covered under your 5yr-100,000 mi power train warrantee. I really don't want to alarm you, but had we had this information we would not be facing a $5,000 repair since our warrantee expired in Feb. Good Luck to you!

08outlook,We are going through this very same thing right now. I have the bulletin sitting in front of me. Unfortunately our 5yr or 100,000 mile warrantee expired last month. The 3-5R Clutch Plate Wave broke and our transmission had a catastrophic failure to the tune of $5,110.70. The dealership told me and I quote, "I am 99.9% certain GM will cover this." Guess what? Nope, he said they were going to cover a portion of it. I am sick to my stomach over this! We purchased the vehicle used 6 months ago and when I asked the dealer what the trade in value would be they quoted me $10,000 LESS than what we purchased it from them just 6 months ago. Damned if we do damned if we don't. I pretty much blew a gasket when the sales guy gave me the trade in value. What a joke! So basically, they want me to fix it for $5,000 + and would only give me $11,000 for it. Of course, I am not this stupid. I am hoping I can get the entire cost covered by GM. It is obvious by the bulletin that this was a problem that they are aware of. The scary scary thing about this is our 20yr old daughter was driving the car in a very dark and isolated area when it began breaking down on her. Seems to me this is a safety issue that very likely depending on the speed you are traveling and where you are traveling that this could result in death.

I've seen your posts on a few different threads, and will try to post in a few different areas to hopefully get in touch.

If you would like, we can look into recall or warranty information with the last 8 digits of your VIN, or can assist in working with a dealership to get any existing concerns diagnosed and resolved. Please send us an email at socialmedia@gm.com with more information (your name/Edmunds username, phone and address, the last 8 digits of your VIN and current mileage, and the name of your involved dealership).

Sarah they fixed the trans and asked us to pick the car up on Wed 3/21/12 and how nice the rear hatch is caved in and dealer says it wasnt them and wrecker company says it wasnt them. SO I get to live another saga with the great company GM.I bet when it gets fixed and because i feel its unreliable and decide to trade it will bring even less thanx!

Update. Just got our 2007 Saturn Outlook back on 7 March 12. Kudos to the dealership for repairing our vehicle yet again. Turns out that part of the power steering unit went out and had to be replaced. THEN...this past Monday (19 March) the car suddenly lost power and began to overheat. Wife was 1 mile from the house with two small children in the car - so she limped the vehicle home. Called the dealer service shop and had the vehicle towed via AAA. This visit (3rd visit in six weeks) to the service shop identified the problem to be a bad water pump -- so it was replaced "free of charge" under the powertrain warranty. So our 2007 Outlook, with 59k miles, is now finally running. Hope I can get this lemon traded in to the Toyota Dealer before it decides to break again. Bye Bye GM. :mad:

I understand why you would be frustrated after reading your post, redleg83. It looks like you're looking to move into a different vehicle, and I hope that you have a better experience, and I'm sorry that your Outlook wasn't satisfactory.

We have a 2008 Saturn Outlook that just turned 117,000 miles. The transmission failed this morning on a busy So Cal freeway! I am posting this message in hopes that the GM will help us with the $4,100 dollars the GM dealer wants for a rebuilt transmission.

I'm sorry to read about your Outlook's transmission failing out on the freeway - sounds as though everybody's okay?

We can certainly open up a Service Request to explore what options may be available; please send an email to socialmedia@gm.com with the following information: your name/Edmunds usernamephone and addressthe last 8 digits of your VINapproximate mileagethe name of your involved dealership

My coworker Christina, who answers inbound emails from the forum, will assist you further. We can't guarantee cost assistance, but we will be thorough in our evaluation.

We have an Outlook as well that has been a total $40,000.00 Lemon. It was in the shop 5 times for sunroof leaks. Tie Rods ends, struts, eats tires up at $1,000.00 a pop. The wipers failed the timeing chain failed, the water pump failed at 45,000 miles leaving me stranded on the highway on Thanksgiving day. The power steering pump went today and guess what the transmission is doing the same thing to me right now. We can't afford it any longer but it has 121,00o on it now no warranty left and 1 year left to pay what the heck. Is there anything I can do before the transmission completely goes... Please help. WE have 4 children I am a stay at home mom with 1 son going off to college.... I am so frustrated... If Sarah from GM services has any advice I would love it.. I get no response and never have from any GM dealers or customer service people

I certainly can understand the difficult situation you are in. What we can do is set up a Service Request to explore what options may be available; please send an email to socialmedia@gm.com with the following information:your name/Edmunds usernamephone and addressthe last 8 digits of your VINapproximate mileagethe name of your involved dealership and description of recent visit(s)

My coworker Christina, who answers inbound emails from the forum, will assist you further. We can't guarantee cost assistance, but we will be thorough in our evaluation.

I have had my Outlook for 5 yrs and just paid it off 3 weeks ago. I have had nothing but trouble with the sunroof leaking and now the transmission just went out. The bill for that is over 4000. Its a shame you spend over 30,000 for a car and have so may problems...never again!

SoccorMom and Sarah - Wow I am in the same boat or heading that way! I posted here a year ago and never got any reply. I have 43K miles and I have had numerous sunroof leaks, the Tire situation is ridiculous, numerous other little annoying things and the HESITATION. I did not see you talk about that (only in your subject line) but it is the worst problem of all and completely unsafe! I have been to the GM dealer but they say they cant find anything wrong. When I hit the gas hard to cross traffic sometimes it hesitates right when you need it most. Its only a split second but scary when it happens. The first time I thought I was running out of gas. This is my first GM car and I wish I could say its been a great experience. I am thinking I better sell my car before I have the same happen to me with the transmission and the rest. My warranty just ran out too. But like you I could not get close to what is left on the loan so I am stuck as well.

I bought my Outlook in March of 2008, with 14,000 miles on it. It has been in the shop for numerous things like leaks (no sunroof, but from the rails on top), multiple headlight issues, etc. Last May I got a letter saying the Sensor for the timing chain needed to be fixed to prevent premature wearing of the timing chain. I made an appointment, and, on the way to the appointment the next week my car died. Would not start. (132000 miles at this point) The dealership towed me in. Timing Chain had wore - i had too many miles..etc.. My point was if I had gotten the letter when the recall first came out - over a year prior - maybe this could have been prevented...but Saturn owners were one of the last ones to recieve the letter and becuase i drive alot i had alot more miles on mine. Eventually it was decided through GM, the dealership and myself that the damage was bad enough at that point that the engine had to be replaced. So - a new engine was installed in late June 2011. Now, driving home last week my car started not wanting to shift or accellerate, 45 minutes after leaving a busy freeway system on the way home. After pulling into Walmart parking lot, we then realize we no longer have reverse and cannot go over 15 mph. We are over an hour away from home at this point with two kids. We finally get the car home and the dealership picks it up the next day and tows it in. In the meantime, I discover a bullitin that had come out mid june regarding the wave plate - And now - I just found out that is what is wrong with the car and now i Need a NEW TRANSMISSION I havent even paid the car off yet and it has a new motor and now needs this! Im beyond frustrated! I don't even know what to do at this point...Any help or suggestions?

momof2innc,Thank you for taking the time to post your concerns. If you would like to email us with your contact information, VIN, and your dealer of choice, we would be happy to look into this further for you (SocialMedia@GM.com). What has the dealer said regarding your concerns? I look forward to your email.ChristinaGM Customer Service